


we'll win but not everyone will get out

by brandywine421



Category: Daredevil (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2019-10-12 13:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17468486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: "Stop."It's the first English word he'd heard in days from outside their group but that's not what made him stop - what made everyone stop. His Spidey-sense had been 'on' since he blinked to life on this foreign world - but the single word shut down his fear instinct like a switch.He didn't know where they were going but the jungle had more cover than the blue fields of plant-like stuff they've been walking through."You've been followed. Stay."Quill shuffled beside him as a figure in black darted through the branches overhead. "Who the hell - ""Don't know, but I think he's a friendly," Peter replied, holding out his bare arm so the guy could see his lack of goosebumps.A woman in black wearing dark red shades stepped into the clearing with her hand extended in a thumbs-up. "Where are you guys from?""What's with the black, it's not exactly camouflage!"  He glared at Quill.She gave him the finger without taking her eyes off Peter.  "Not talking to you, talking to this guy."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So. This is, like, a Defenders story from Peter Parker's POV. An After-The-Snap story that wasn't supposed to be this at all when I sat down but 5K words later I have it out of my brain and out of my way.
> 
> Happy Weekend, All!

_"Stop."_

It's the first English word he'd heard in days from outside their group but that's not what made him stop - what made everyone stop. His Spidey-sense had been 'on' since he blinked to life on this foreign world - but the single word shut down his fear instinct like a switch. He'd been leading the mishmash dubbed 'Survivors of Titan', like some kind of failed Anime series, since they woke up here strictly because of his overcharged danger intuition that had saved them from several ambushes so far.

He didn't know where they're going but the jungle had more cover than the blue fields of plant-like stuff they've been walking through.

" _You've been followed. Stay."_

Quill shuffled beside him as a figure in black darted through the branches overhead. "Who the hell - "

"Don't know, but I think he's a friendly," Peter replied, holding out his bare arm so the guy could see his lack of goosebumps.

"Fine - but only because your weird hair condition has gotten us this far without being eaten," Quill muttered. There were some really big 'animals' here.

"They would not have eaten us," Mantis called. "They only eat plants but they would have stomped us into plant food. Is that what you meant?"

A woman in black wearing dark red shades stepped into the clearing with her hand extended in a thumbs-up. "Caterpillar's right. Where are you guys from?"

"Varies," Peter said, trying to make himself look big before Quill said something to get them beat up.

"Need a little more than that," she said.

Quill called. "What's with the black, it's not exactly camouflage!"

She gave him the finger without taking her eyes off Peter.  "Not talking to you, talking to this guy. What's your name and why do they have you leading the way like bait out in front?"  The man in black dropped down between them with his face wrapped in a dark scarf and everyone but the woman flinched in surprise.  "Find anything, Matt?"

"It's clear. Let's take them to shelter, Jessica. The tall one needs medical attention."

Stephen visibly stiffened. "I am not injured."

"He senses your pain," Mantis added helpfully.

"He's a wizard, he lost his magic when all this happened," Peter said quickly.

Jessica reached over and tugged the scarf off the guy's face, swapping it for her sunglasses. A glimpse was all it took to notice the guy was blind.

He recognized her immediately.  "You're Jessica Jones! You're awesome!" Peter blurted out like it was 5 days ago and New York was a real place.

She narrowed a glare at him. "Who the fuck - "

"Spider-man," the blind guy answered so Peter didn't have to. "Without being offensive since we're all aliens here - but is that one safe?" He tilted his head toward Mantis.

"She's with us," Peter answered.

"We already have a wizard and a witch, probably not your kind, but they might be able to help. Also by any rare chance, do you guys know a tree?" Jessica asked, watching Mantis warily when her antennae twitched up.

"Groot?" Quill asked immediately.

"Huh. Come on, we've got a campsite," Jessica shrugged. "Are we clear, Devil?" Matt hummed and gave a short sniff before he nodded.

Peter barely managed not to fanboy out over Daredevil like he'd done with Jessica. "Are there more people here?"

"I don't understand the languages, but apparently humans are quite tasty," Matt replied. "We're not the only 'species' that woke up here from somewhere else."

"Half the universe turned to dust," Peter said quietly. "We failed."

Jessica pinched him and he squeaked. "Not dust. You're not earning us another fireside pep talk, I'm so done with those."

"But yes, we have a campsite, don't call it a  _settlement_  because we're not settling here forever," Matt said. "I hate camping. Pit trap to the right, follow our steps."

Peter glanced at the bare spot of jungle and obediently fell into step behind the Defenders.

 

* * *

 

  
"Fair warning to the Earthlings in the crowd," Jessica said, turning outside of the last 'invisible' perimeter line of the camp. "Loki's with us, got a shit-ton of doubly displaced Asgardians under his wing so put your personal feelings aside."

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Stephen asked, leaning heavily on Mantis now despite his insistence of no injuries.

"Of course not, but his goal is the same as ours. Protect what's left of our kind," Matt said simply.

"He's obsessed with Matt but he's saved our asses a few times since we landed. He's with us," Jessica added. "Groot's hanging out with the exiled Avengers we ended up with, you got any beef with them, Kid?"

"We don't currently have 'beef' with anyone but Thanos," Stephen said.

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Who - "

"Got four, need a medic," Matt said and Peter blinked to make sure he wasn't hallucinating the foliage opening up into an expansive camp with tents and small fires roasting assorted unrecognizable hunks of food.

"How - " Quill started.

"Only opens for Matt, Loki's got his mojo on it. Nobody else, really, makes it back when they go out without him," she confessed quietly, tapping at her ear. "He can pick out the differences between friend or foe if it comes down to 'species'."

"I need to learn that," Peter said.

"We haven't started tracking the days yet, but you'll get the chance," Jessica sighed.

"I am Groot!" Echoed through the bustling camp and Peter saw Bucky Barnes strutting toward them with an excited tree hurrying past him.

"Groot!" Quill and Mantis were obviously among friends but Peter stiffened when the Winter Soldier reached them.

"Queens?"

"It's Peter. Hey?" he waved with a thick swallow. Not that he was afraid of the guy but his webbing was out of commission like his suit.

"Where were you? How did you end up with the Guardians?" Bucky asked. "We got a bunch of people from New York and - "

"I was with Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange in space. It's a really long story," Peter said.

Matt stepped between them "Come on, the doc's a wizard or something so he's probably sick because of Loki's whole  _thing_  and they need food and water."

"I'll work on the second part, that magic shit creeps me out. No offense, Doc," Jessica said, hurrying in the opposite direction as Matt led them into a tent that was most definitely bigger on the inside than the outside. There were cots lining the outer ring and blankets from fabric like Peter had never seen.

"Oh," Loki frowned when he saw Stephen. "That's unfortunate, but I gave Matthew my word."

"He took your magic and he's not sorry about it," Wanda said, nodding politely to them from a woven mat in the center of the tent. "Welcome to purgatory, everyone. It's very awful."

"You took - " Stephen started, staring at the insane alien that brought space whales to New York.

"He can't use it, but all kinds of aliens have magic. Loki's some kind of super-wizard so he sapped everything up," Wanda explained. "It's probably how you ended up close to our camp."

"I arrived here before the main event," Loki said, holding out his hand with a sphere of swirling energy. "I was hoping to gather the lost Asgardians under my protection but inadvertently became a magnet for the magically inclined."

Peter glanced at Matt.

"We chose the wrong night to have drinks with the Iron Fist," Matt answered the unasked question, quirking his head to the right where a blond guy was snoring unbothered by the new guests.

"And before you bother correcting them, they will always call you a wizard, Sorcerer Supreme," Loki said with a dramatic bow.

Stephen accepted the ball of magic and it shimmered into his veins but left him with color in his skin and bright eyes that he had lost since their arrival here.

"Does it look as creepy to you as it does to me?" Matt asked under his breath and Peter relaxed.

"Probably," Peter replied.

Matt took a step closer. "You look like Wanda now, human with something else. Not like Peter, his heartbeat's enhanced."

Stephen considered him. "You can 'sense' the difference without telepathy or - "

Matt shook his head. "No mind stuff, just four out of the five senses on overdrive. We're all trying to survive here until we figure out what's happening so you're welcome to stay and - "

"Yes, say yes, Stephen. Please," Peter blurted out.

Stephen smiled with a fond sigh. "I agree with Peter, it's our safest option and we're grateful."

"Dinner, come get it," Jessica called from the door. "You, too, Matty, you know the drill."

"No fair," Matt muttered, almost pouting and Peter was curious enough to let Wanda guide him out of the tent.

 

* * *

 

"Eat it," Jessica ordered.

"Yuck," Matt frowned.

"Murdock doesn't like alien food, not because it's harmful but because he's a picky brat," Bucky said, sitting down beside him. "City boy."

Wanda patted his knee kindly. "He tastes everything for us first. Groot can usually tell us which aliens are friendly and what food is safe but they made it into daily entertainment. He's like a judge on Top Chef that hates everything."

Peter smiled when he saw the gathered onlookers giggling into their hands.

"Come on, don't make me get a stick and play the airplane game," Jessica warned. Peter flinched when a plate filled with unidentifiable meat and plant substance was placed in his hands.

"Meat here has the veggie stuff and plants have the protein. It's really not that bad," Bucky said but Peter was too hungry to care and didn't want to talk with his mouth full.

"The leaves taste like chicken," Peter said after he swallowed.

"Ew ew ew," Matt chanted as he daintily placed a square of meat on his tongue. His disgusted face turned the audience giggles into full laughter and Peter felt lighter from the shared moment.

"Is he going to spit it out?" Peter whispered.

"Nah, that would set a bad example. The first few days were rough and even if the adults warmed up to eating whatever we found for them, the kids were a problem. Now everyone gets to watch one of the bosses bitch and complain but it doesn't get him out of eating," Bucky shrugged.

"Yuck," Matt repeated, taking the plate from Jessica and scowling as he ate his meal. But there was a fondness that he doubted the guy knew was showing on his face but he tugged her to sit on his knee and share the food.

There was still the underlying shared panic of not knowing where or *what* they were anymore but at least they were among allies.

* * *

  
Peter found himself shadowing Matt and Bucky the next few days since he didn't know Quill and his friends well enough to bother them while Stephen, Loki and Wanda played with magic in the Asgardian side of camp.

But Matt took him on 'patrol' and swinging through the canopy of the weird forest wasn't the same as the streets of his city but it gave him something useful to do. They scouted the giant animals for the Hunters to take out and searched for survivors.

He almost felt like he was 'settling' but he missed Aunt May and there was always someone crying when he practiced honing his hearing.

He missed home, his family, his friends - his planet.

But he couldn't mope about it. He couldn't. He was here and they were going to get home. Eventually.

 

* * *

 

He was getting his 'required extra calories with Bucky and watching the beautiful Asgardian women hover around Matt across the campfire with tiny combs and sewing kits.  "The Asgardians like to groom him, it's very strange and he doesn't put up with it for long but Loki says it's some kind of warrior ritual and we should just go with it."

Peter caught one of the larger women watching him curiously. "Um."

"It's not, like, sexy touching or anything. They made the tents, the armor, the weapons we use. We're lucky to have found them," Bucky said. "Granted, they're more obsessed with Double D's powers than the rest of us, but don't freak out if they touch your hair or try to make you wear jewelry."

"How's your head?" Peter asked, figuring Bucky would know what he meant. One of the Asgardians dragged Jessica over to Matt and shoved a bowl and knife in her hand.

"Two triggers left at last check, so I'm fit for duty as long as long as we don't run into any Russians," he shrugged. "Wanda's got my six. Steve loves her like a sister." He bumped shoulders with Peter. "We got your six, too. Believe it or not - Stevie loves Tony just as much."

"You get to call him Stevie?" Peter smiled, relaxing when he saw the Asgardians harassing Matt into letting Jessica shave his unkempt beard.

Bucky watched the ritual with bright curiosity even if he acted like it was 'normal'. "Everyone should call him Stevie, it drives him nuts." He glanced at him, almost shy. "Rhodey told us that you were like a nephew to Tony. Does that mean something to you?"

He flashed back to Uncle Ben. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Then you know what it means. We're going to get home, Peter. I've almost died too many times to give up my ghost here," Bucky whispered. "I'm almost a hundred years old and I've only had mental cognizance for about thirty of those, and the fucking moon was still allegedly cheese! I have no fucking idea what I'm doing so believe me when I say - we're all in this together."

Peter bumped shoulders with him and felt a lot better. This was okay. He could totally do this. "Isn't it, like, offensive that they make Jessica do it?"

Bucky snickered. "She's his second, she has to give permission for anyone to go near him with a blade. Danny got the honor once and nicked him and it turned into this whole thing. Plus, he shaves her legs when nobody's around, the Asgardians are serious about their warrior grooming. It almost turned into a whole thing, too."

"That's almost sweet. But more weird," Peter acknowledged.

 

* * *

 

"Don't drop to ground level until I give you the word. They can't see us and we don't need to see them, okay?" Matt reminded him and Peter nodded, flexing the strange animal-skin gloves to protect him from 'pricks' when he was swinging through branches instead of buildings - with no webs.

"Fuck camping," Peter murmured and Matt smiled brightly at him.

"Let's go."

He had practiced the silent swings and leaps but listening wasn't his top priority so he almost missed Matt's signal to go still while he investigated something.

Then he heard the voices. English and French and Spanish. More survivors, a lot of them.

He heard a vague scuffle and narrowly missed a spear by his head before he ducked out of sight.

_"Hey - stay where you are!"_

_"Stop shooting at me!"_

_"Wait - is that - "_

Peter held his breath.

_"Say the thing."_

_"I'm not saying the thing."_

_"Say it or I'll shoot you with my arrow."_

_"Maria Hill, you have failed this city."_

_"Ha."_

Peter was twitching with curiosity when Matt finally whistled and he dropped to the ground beside him. "Maria!" he greeted Ms. Hill with an impulsive hug that the stiff woman actually returned after a beat.

" _Parker_ \- we thought - "

"Since when does Stark take kids to space? He better get all the college credits for this," Matt said flatly.

Maria bracketed his face with her hands suddenly and stared him down. "Listen because I'm only going to say this once before Fury gets here. If your aunt is still on Earth, she will be safe because Stark and Pepper had shit-tons of emergency plans, okay?"

He didn't know he needed to hear it until she said it. "Really?"

"I swear. But I never told you and you have no idea, got it?"

He nodded blankly and leaned into Matt's support when he put his hand on his back. "Thank you."

Matt twitched his nose, unhappy but not upset about something. "I count more than we're prepared to handle. We've got maybe, three hundred humans, maybe five hundred assorted in our camp right now."

"That many?" Peter asked, feeling like he should be less surprised than Maria. "I didn't see that many."

Matt shrugged. "They're all in the bubble, we just don't all hang out in the same place. Groot handles the 'non-human' placements."

"Nick! It's one of mine!" Maria called into the brush and Fury swaggered into the clearing. He had a toddler in full camo balanced on his shoulder that he passed to someone Peter couldn't see.

"Murdock.  _Parker_?" Fury asked, his one eye going wide at the sight of Peter.

He raised his hand. "Hi."

"How many? I can't get a count," Matt frowned and raised his head as if searching for something.

"Turn it off, we're talking now," Peter murmured and Matt swallowed thickly and nodded, squeezing his arm.

"We've got a truce with Loki, is that a problem?" Matt asked, directing his question to Maria.

"Not if you say it isn't," Maria replied with a muted nod to Fury who returned it with a frown. She turned to Peter. "Are you alone?"

"Oh, Dr. Strange is with me, do you know him? And some aliens we met in space," Peter replied. "Who did you find?"

"Falcon and some Wakandian royalty," Maria answered before Fury could lie. He frowned again but Peter's pleased to see Maria gave no fucks and was poking at Matt's armor curiously.

"They found Bucky and Wanda. That's cool, right?" Peter added.

"VERY COOL!" Someone called from the bushes.

"That's Princess Shuri, she's a genius, Parker, hopefully you can put her to good use," Maria winked at him. "Can you show us what to eat around here? I'm starving."

 

* * *

 

The Wakandians and the Asgardians got on like gangbusters and had the housing situation resolved before the dusk that counted as nightfall on this triple-mooned and no-sun planet.

Peter didn't like thinking about the unspoken fact that not even the aliens could pick out any familiar stars in the sky. He was damned well going to learn all the constellations when - if - when he got home.

He was slightly surprised to be invited to the brainstorming meeting in Matt's tent instead of going with T'Challa and Groot to expand the perimeter traps for the planned widening of the magic 'bubble' tomorrow.

"I trust your brains, not that I don't trust Danny's but I want your input, too," Matt confided when Peter called him on it. "I'm not a team leader, you know? I'm flying blind here."

"Ha," Peter caught after a moment too long. He found a seat between Wanda and Matt around the low table. Not everyone was here, but the Guardians were all in place and Fury was here instead of Maria.

There didn't seem to be a plan for discussion but Matt had been shown to be the 'Loki whisperer' so it seemed right for him to start things off. "So, Loki, did you bring all the humans to one singular place on purpose?" Matt asked.

The man froze and everyone started paying attention.

"Of course not." Loki paused when Matt inclined his head toward him. "I - when I encountered Thanos previously, I foresaw his plan."

Wanda glared at Fury over Peter's shoulder to keep him from interrupting. Peter knew most of the story already and believed some of it.

"When I was under his control, I was able to see enough of his mind to know his intentions. I may have 'suggested' that the disintegrated souls be directed to safe resting places fitting of their kind," Loki said finally.

"I am Groot."

"Perhaps," Loki sighed. "There are quite a lot of non-carnivorous creatures here."

"So you changed the game. Thanos thinks he eliminated half the universe's population, but he's wrong because we're still here," Danny said.

Loki looked away but Matt shifted and he spoke, wearily. "We're far from our universe, I think. I don't know where we are."

"Table that problem for now - get back to the game," Fury said. "What else did you 'suggest' when you were linked up with the bastard?"

Loki smiled slowly. "That everyone would remember. We have to survive to remember."

"I am Groot?"

Peter wondered if he was ever going to understand the guy but Loki hummed thoughtfully. "Vormir has no inhabitants apart from the Stonekeeper. It is possible she survived."

"Wait - " Quill called as Mantis perked her antennae.

"Translation?" Fury asked.

"I am Groot."

Loki sat up straight. "She is a Child of Thanos? That's how he retrieved the Soul Stone. He cared for her?"

"Thanos pushed Mr. Quill's girlfriend off a cliff," Peter said before Fury got loud. He was relieved when the man settled down. "A sacrifice to win that stone, the Nebula lady told us."

"Gamora and Nebula are sisters, they were both raised by Thanos," Mantis nodded. "But he didn't care for Nebula."

Fury strummed his fingers across the table. "Would he have killed Gamora outright or found a loophole like you did? If you managed to trick the cosmic forces into keeping us alive, could he have done it for her?"

Peter's head started to spin. "Why does it matter, no offense, Guardians, but we're pretty stranded here."

"We need her," Loki said. "She's the key. The final part of the prophecy."

"Not this again," Matt groaned.

Fury and Quill both leaned forward. "What prophecy?"

"It's why he's obsessed with Matt and hasn't killed me with his brain yet," Danny shrugged.

Matt waved his hand in front of his face. "His mom used to dream about a blind guy. He's projecting."

Loki shook his head firmly. "No. Mother did not tell tales that did not need to be heard. When all is lost and time is broken," he nodded to the wall of clocks spinning in the multitude of universe-specific time zones. "I would meet a man who exists in a world on fire with no sight, a woman with the strength of a dozen men, a man with a golden fist of power and a man with unbreakable skin - "

"Wait, you didn't tell us that last part," Matt said sharply. "Luke's not here."

"Who's Luke?" Quill asked, throwing up his hands.

"Luke Cage, he's the other Defender. What?" Peter crossed his arms. "They're awesome, he's the hero of Harlem - seriously, nobody?"

"I saw him on YouTube, Sam's a huge fan," Wanda agreed.

"Tell us more about the prophecy," Quill insisted.

"What if he's with the new batch of survivors? You up for a walk-through?" Wanda whispered to him when the rest started talking over each other.

"Absolutely. Matt, is that cool?" he whispered and Matt gave him a thumb's up under the table.

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

 

"Oh wow, I didn't think we'd actually find him," Peter said when a large black man stalked over to Shuri and Wanda at the edge of the last new group of tents. He had a crowd of people following him and Peter glanced at the women to see who was going to take the lead.

Shuri was fanning herself with a dark blush of her cheeks so he took her off the list.

"Hey, you guys looking for me?" Luke asked in a deep growl.

"Uh, yeah, hi. I'm Peter, this is Wanda and Shuri, Princess Shuri - "

"We all know who they are, kid," Luke smiled, exhaustion lining his face.

He kept his voice low. "We have three out of four Defenders back in our sector so we thought we'd take a chance and see if you were around."

Luke's face lit up in surprise. "You mean - "

"The devil and the rich boy are here, too?" one of the crowd asked.

"And the hot chick?"

"I'm going to tell her you called her that," Peter frowned at the guy.

Luke laughed. "I'd really like to talk to them - I've got a couple of people with me, too. We didn't want to deal with that Fury guy so we were hanging back to see where things laid out."

Peter didn't recognize the Asian woman with the katana on her back but he immediately knew Hank Pym with the other two women. "Wow."

"Oh, you are Scott's friend, yes?" Wanda perked up, offering her hand to Hope. "It's so nice to meet you, that guy would not stop talking about you. If you're as formidable as he always bragged, Matt is going to want you on the 'run and jump' squad."

Hope Van Dyne was visibly shocked but nodded. "Yes, okay. These are my parents, Janet and Hank."

Shuri sniffed, all Princess as she crossed her arms. "I have a moral objection with working with Mr. Pym, but if you can keep him on a leash, the Van Dyne women are amazing scientists."

"What are you, twelve?" Hank scowled.

"Fail," Peter replied, turning to the last woman. "I'm Peter."

"Colleen, I'm - "

Wanda brightened. "Danny's girl, or ex, he's not very clear but he's going to be so glad to see you."

Peter distantly heard Matt's sharp whistle and grinned. "All right, that's the signal for me to bring you guys in."

Janet stepped forward. She reminded Peter of Ms. Potts because she was demure and composed even in the alien jungle. She bowed her head to Shuri. "My husband burned a lot of bridges and generally showed his ass while I was away the past, oh, twenty or so years. But we were apart a very long time and it's a gift that I'm here with my family intact."

Shuri huffed but relented. "Fine, he can come. The only reason I let my brother out of my sight is because he's desperate to do something to help and he's totally not smart enough for the science tent."

"I'm going to tell him you said that," Wanda smirked.

"How are you mixed up in all this, Kid?" Luke asked him as they walked.

"Spider-man," he shrugged. "Not that it matters here, but at least it keeps me in the loop on what's happening and that's all right, isn't it?"

"Yeah. That sounds all right," Luke agreed.

 

* * *

 

"Why does it matter that I'm blind?" Matt asked, lazily strumming his fingers through Jessica's hair. Peter didn't think they'd been together in the 'real' world but they were a package deal here. (They didn't talk about how Matt required cuddling in order to actually sleep.)

But Peter liked staying close to his adopted group, too.

"It's a good question," Luke hummed, sitting in the meditation circle and failing to relax like Danny and Colleen had managed.

"Luke and Jessica make sense because of the power balance, if they both get Thanos restrained, then the Iron Fists can get the gauntlet off," Peter said, recalling one of the many discussions about the prophecy.

Matt nodded. "But Loki's more interested in my blindness than any of my other skills. There has to be something he's not telling us - or that we aren't thinking of."

Jessica snapped awake suddenly and glared at Matt for coddling her in public as she shook out of her nap. "What are we doing?"

"I brought up the blind thing," Matt said.

"You were supposed to ask the Goth prince about it, not the team," Jessica yawned. Peter felt warm being 'on the team'.

"Oh my _God_ , meditation doesn't include this much talking," Colleen said. She climbed to her feet and yelled out of the tent. "We need to talk to a wizard!"

It only took a few minutes for Loki and Stephen to show up. "What's wrong?"

"Why is Matt the chosen one your Ma told you to wait for?" Jessica asked bluntly.

Loki was visibly confused. "I've told this story - "

Matt leaned forward. "I have special skills, sure, but I can't be the first blind person you've ever met."

"When Thanos is killed, the gauntlet will glow as bright as a dying star," Loki said. "The only way to make it stop is to wear it or destroy it."

"And wearing it will kill you," Stephen said with a slow look at Loki. "Did you really not tell them this part?"

"Definitely not," Peter confirmed.

Danny opened his eyes and glanced around. "I thought we were meditating, what's happening?"

Loki crossed his arms defiantly. "We're having a meeting, here, in four hours to go over the plan and we'll discuss it further."

Stephen sighed and dropped another bomb. "We think we've got the preliminary portals worked out and we want to try and contact Gamora."

"Four hours," Loki said.

"Oh my God, that almost sounds like we _have_ a plan," Peter realized.

Matt pointed in his general direction. "Don't jinx us, we need more information."

 

* * *

 

Turned out, the trifecta of Loki, Wanda and Dr. Strange's magic was strong enough to make portals through time and space for short periods. Not enough to power them all home - and not long enough to sustain it staying open for actual relocation of a group their size - but enough that Quill got to talk to his girlfriend and get Thanos' sleep schedule.

Thanos visited his daughter when he slept. Thanos took naps and his body and the gauntlet were unattended. This was helpful.

Maybe that wouldn't have been a big deal but Janet and Shuri ( _and Hank but he had to agree to be an anonymous contributor because of reasons)_ had figured out the math behind Loki's clocks and were plotting a timeline for their attack.

They had a fucking plan. He was going to curse as much as possible until they left space because they had a plan to leave space!

_Sort of._

 

* * *

 

"He's totally not going to like this," Peter sighed, leading Sam and Bucky into Matt's tent. It was 'day' but he knew Matt missed last 'night's' strategy meeting because of patrol so he was sure to make a lot of noise when he pulled the flap open.

Matt was sitting up on his cot but still shirtless with his Daredevil scars on blatant display. "What are you whispering about, you know I can hear you."

"Only if you're listening," Sam snickered. "Which you weren't or you'd know."

Bucky cleared his throat. "So, Sam and I are going with the Guardians to that planet where Gamora fell. Turns out, I have some unfinished business with a Nazi."

Matt threw up his hands. "Nazis are in space, too? What the hell?"

Sam nodded solemnly. " _Right_. The timing's the thing since we're going to back up Quill and Groot to secure Gamora's body while you guys are going for Thanos. We need them both to be in the dream place if we're going to make it work."

Matt slid on his sunglasses as he swung his legs from his mountain of blankets. That was his 'serious business' armor. "Who's staying at the camp?"

The roster of helpers felt huge inside their settlement but it wasn't enough for the plan they're cobbling together.

"Loki, Wanda and Stephen will be here working the portals with Shuri and the Pyms," Sam listed off. "T'Challa's staying to watch the perimeters. Peter, Mantis and Hope are going with your team."

"Why the insects? Isn't that totally speciest?" Jessica asked, popping up from the blankets in Matt's shirt.

"Um. Mantis to keep him asleep and hanging out with Gamora in his dreams and me and Hope because we're - um, bendy." Peter said, looking away when Jessica stretched lazily.

"Bendy and _wicked smart_ is more like it. We need to get in quick and quiet and the Devil's been tuned in to their frequencies since they met," Bucky said with a roll of his eyes.

Matt didn't deny it. He said that Peter and Hope were 'internally expressive' and easier for him to use as compass points in a crowd. (Matt could find Jess, Danny and probably Luke already, something about near-death-experiences and imprinting but Peter had been half-asleep from the bedtime story.)

"We're going to practice constantly until it's time. We'll be ready," Peter said.

"I don't doubt that, but - I just hoped you'd be here with Shuri and Wanda instead of walking through portals with us," Matt sighed.

"I'm never going to sign a waiver for you, Matt," Peter smiled.

 

* * *

 

"Medusa, Medusa, remember Medusa," Peter chanted under his breath, marking the pounding hearts around him with his eyes closed. Hope reached over and grabbed his hand and he squeezed hard since she started it.

Matt's prayer was so low that he doubted anyone else could hear it in their places. Thanos was asleep but Hope and Peter had to stay quiet and hidden just in case - so much in case. They weren't going to be the ones to wake him.

" _Danny_ \- " Colleen's whisper wasn't quiet enough and Peter held his breath.

_"Give me a second - "_

_" - and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - "_

_"My left stroke just went viral - right stroke put lil baby in a spiral - soprano C, we like to keep it on a high note - "_

"Medusa," Peter repeated, pinching his eyes closed and trying to breathe between the chops following Danny's weird mantra and Thanos' sudden howl of pain and rage.

" _Sweet Christmas!"_

_"Smash it!"_

_"How can I smash it if I can't see it!"_

A flash of red then white hot brightness flashed through his eyelids and Peter shuddered. He didn't want to be blind or disintegrate again.

"You can open your eyes now, the problem resolved itself," Matt said shakily.

Hope jumped up from their hiding place and dragged Peter with her to Thanos' smoldering body. "Was that Kendrick Lamar? Did you seriously - "

"Colleen chopped the fingers off when Thanos was trying to keep his head," Jessica said blankly, staggering back a few steps until she ran into Luke and slumped next to Mantis.

Danny and Matt seemed to be holding each other up and he had a rush of familiar wind through his veins. "Oh no - "

"No no no, we did it right, we - " Jessica choked out as her legs faded into dust.

"What - "

He didn't bother saying he didn't feel good this time. Mantis stared at her hands as they faded away.

 

* * *

 

Peter blinked dust out of his eyes and inhaled, looking up at Mr. Stark. "Did it work?"

Stephen chuckled in the background and Peter wrapped his arms around Tony.

"I never wanted to be an astronaut, can we _please_ go home now?"

"What the hell just happened?" Tony choked into his hair.

"We fixed it. Group effort, go team," Peter sobbed happily.

 

* * *

 

"So you're recruiting superheroes now, Pete?" Tony asked, a few hours into the long 'ride' home on the Guardians' ship.

"Daredevil doesn't want to be an Avenger. He doesn't like to leave the city," Peter said. "He's got a real job and everything. Like Stephen, he's got his own shit to deal with and he doesn't want to be important."

Dr. Strange nodded and Tony boggled at him. "Since when do you curse?"

"Wanda had a lot of _feelings_ ," Stephen hummed. "We picked up some unwelcome habits."

"Did you know she was just twenty-one? She said Captain Rogers gave her and Viz this whole safe sex and respect talk and it was just like those videos we watch in science class," Peter added.

Tony didn't reply immediately.

"And did you know Bucky's been dating Steve since the 40's? 'Cause I didn't know that," Peter said.

"No," Tony sighed. "I didn't know that."

"I think what Peter's trying to suggest is that you need to make nice with the fugitive Avengers so he can see his friends," Stephen said.

"Not all of them, I don't think I'll ever be able to hang out with Fury, that guy has no sense of humor," Peter frowned. "But I am pretty good friends with the Wasp now. So."

"Okay, we're pausing this conversation until I have a link to FRIDAY because I can't clear you making friends with more bugs."

 

* * *

 

"There's Groot," Quill grinned, ignoring Tony hovering over his shoulder at the controls as he brought the spaceship down at the Avengers' compound - Earth.

"Green grass, blue sky - **yes** ," Peter twitched. He was so ready to go home.

"Is that a _tree_? Your friend's a tree?" Tony asked, glancing at Peter.

"He's a tree like Mantis is a bug - meaning totally _not_ ," Peter said, high-fiving Mantis.

"Yeah, let's get you back on Earth. Fall in, Guardians, I'll get you guys a place to stay - " Tony started but Peter scrambled out of the ship to sprawl on the grass.

His aunt heaved him up into a hug and finally - **FINALLY** \- he was home.

"You're in so much trouble," Aunt May sobbed into his hair. "Half the world knows you're Spider-man and the other half has no idea what's going on."

"Oh, that's not promising," Peter laughed, holding on tight. "But we're not dead, right? Everything's okay now?"

"Short answer - yeah. Everything's okay but long answer - I'm taking you home and grounding you for eternity."

Dr. Strange stepped into Peter's view. "I'm not going to this debrief, I have business to handle. Would you like a 'ride' home?" He opened a portal and Peter recognized their living room.

"Awesome, come on Aunt May, I have so much to tell you - Mr. Stark, I'll call you later! Bye Mantis and Groot! And Quill!" Peter called taking his Aunt's arm and making one last step into crazy to get home.

May smacked him on the back of the head when the portal closed. "Now my car's stuck in upstate New York."

 

* * *

 

_"Oh wow, Peter didn't tell us you were hot. Ow."_

Peter scrambled out of bed and grinned when he saw Danny and Luke at the door.

"I'm sorry about him. We brought your car back," Luke said, holding out her keys.

Aunt May was suddenly very red. "Oh, thank you. Peter, introduce your friends, the big one first," she said, waving him over without taking her eyes away from Luke's chest.

"Hey, guys - were you at the Avengers place, too?" Peter asked, doing the combination fist-bump and handshake combination they'd taught him, only missing the low-five shimmy part today.

"Yeah, Matt and Jessica tagged out before everything got crazy. Secret identities are a problem," Danny said.

" _Right_?" Peter agreed. His aunt put her arm around him. "I grounded myself and blocked all numbers not in my contact list."

"Ooh, you have to show me how to do that," Danny said eagerly, holding out his phone.

"Coffee?" Aunt May asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Luke.

"Stop flirting with my friends," Peter frowned.

"He's much too old to be your friend, but he's the perfect age to be mine, go play with your phone," she shooed him off.

Peter turned to Danny and kept his voice low. "Are Matt and Jess okay?"

"If by okay you mean 'banging like bunnies', then yes. People keep bringing him food and there are reporters and, like, death rumors because he hasn't left his house in a few days because of the bunnies," Danny shrugged. "But yeah, they're okay. Nobody has each other's numbers since we didn't have phones in space but we're fixing that now."

Peter hurried to get his phone, glancing at the muted TV on his way past. He hadn't watched the news much, sleeping and hugging his aunt and texting Ned and MJ had been priority but he'd seen the video from all over. Their five weeks 'somewhere else' had been five seconds 'here'. Sure, there had been some accidents and one plane that couldn't recover from the blip because it was in the middle of takeoff - but it was a universal miracle in real time for the half that got to stay home.

The news anchors that drifted to dust only to blink back into place in alien clothes - the pregnant women reappearing with healthy, chattering babies - school playgrounds sparsely dotted with kids suddenly fritzing into taller, differently dressed kids.

"Peter, they're having a gathering in Central Park this weekend for the Dusters," Luke said, standing with Danny and his, still flushed, Aunt when he returned.

"Oh no, I'm not going to do that," Peter balked.

"Good answer," May smiled. "Mr. Murdock invited us to - "

"Hey, I didn't get invited," Danny interrupted.

"Because your identity's always been public, punk, it's a brainstorming meeting," Luke swiped his hand over Danny's hair fondly.

Peter nodded. "Make sure his number's in my phone."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These little extra scenes have just been sitting on my drive, since I'm doing some file cleanup, have a teeny tiny epilogue.

 

  
"Sorry, nobody's allowed through," the third cop said when they finally made it to the barricade at the end of Matt's street.

Peter rolled his eyes and tried to burrow into the hoodie another inch. He murmured into his collar, "Matt, it's Peter, can we come in?"

The cop frowned when his phone buzzed a moment later. "How does he keep doing that? Go on up," he sighed, after glaring at them.

"It's going to be fine, you'll like him." He knew she was worried about him but he wasn't about to miss a chance to get out of the apartment and see his friends without getting hassled by reporters. They needed a plan if they wanted their lives back.

"I'm not sure I want you hanging around in this neighborhood," Aunt May said.

"Uh, I'm Spider-Man, remember?" Peter whispered but she rolled her eyes at him when he raised his hand to knock.

The door swung open before his knuckles made contact and a small Catholic Sister stared them down. "Mr. and Mrs. Parker, I presume? May I see your - "

" _Stop asking for ID's!_ " Matt's voice called from inside. " _Peter, everything is awful!_ "

Peter grinned at the nun as she stepped aside and darted over to his friend's side, squeezing him in a hug that Matt actually allowed. "Are you guys all right?" He hugged Jessica before she could run away and decided not to ask about the nun when he clocked Aunt May's ' _must be polite at all costs_ ' face.

"I'm not doing so well, does Stark have you taken care of or - " Matt began but the nun cleared her throat.

"Matthew, this is May Parker, the boy's aunt. Peter, I'm Sister Maggie, Matthew's mother." The nun stared him down and Peter looked to Aunt May for instruction. This wasn't on the agenda.

"You can't _just_ \- everything's just - awful - _see_?" Matt muttered, raising his hand to his chest, letting out a wheeze and taking several too short breaths.

"Excuse us," Sister Maggie said, going to his side and twisting his hand until she could press her tiny fingers against his wrist. "Come on, Matthew."

Peter stared at the open door, listening to Matt's soft mumbles until Jessica scraped her chair across the floor. "Panic attack, third one today," she said quietly. "He's not a G-rated vigilante, so who knows what he hears from that crowd outside."

"Is there anything we can do?" Aunt May asked.

Jessica sighed. "Don't hold his freak-out against him? He wanted to offer you and Peter representation outside of Stark's legal umbrella and like, financial aid advice or something."

"He got some kind of 'orphan' grant to help with tuition, he said I might qualify for all kinds of stuff. And I already retained his services in space," he added to Jessica.

"The whole _hyperventilating_ thing is new, guy has way too many secrets that are out now and he's losing his shit," Jessica said. "He'll figure it out and be able to act like a functional adult at some point."

"There's something on the roof," Matt said, darting out of the bedroom and through a door Peter didn't notice until it slammed open.

Sister Maggie followed him out with a frustrated look.

"Not someone, but some _thing_? The hell - " Jessica made it to the door but Peter was faster up the stairs with a quick web. His senses hadn't gone off and he immediately realized why.

"He's a friendly," Peter called quickly, hoping Matt would stop pinning Vision down before he retaliated. "That's Wanda's bae."

"Vision?" Jessica asked, bumping into him. "Huh."

Matt reared back, releasing his hold on the guy with a speculative expression. "Are you sure?"

"Apologies, Mr. Murdock," Vision said, remaining flat on his back with what passed for an amused look. "My intention was not to startle or upset you."

"Great job," Jessica snorted, yanking Matt to his feet. "Go talk to your Ma before she starts cleaning again."

"Hey, Viz. What are you doing here?" Peter asked when Matt offered his hand to Vision for a heave up.

"Wanda and Groot are quite insistent that their lawyers be present before they speak to anyone and it's causing a lot of problems with the incoming Asgardian refugees," Vision explained, brushing himself off primly.

"They're not here yet?" Peter asked.

"Orbiting the moon while Wakanda gets shit ready," Jessica answered.

" _Ms. Jones, I've let your language slide in my presence but this is your final warning - there is a child present!_ " Sister Maggie called up the stairs.

"You sure super-hearing doesn't run in the family?" she muttered to Matt.

"Sorry for tackling you," Matt said to Vision. "Come in, we'll talk."

Peter walked with Viz downstairs. "Is everything a mess?"

Vision tilted his head in an incidental mirror of Matt's tic before he answered. "Yes. International politics were unresolved and now with Wakanda offering the Asgardians asylum - it's become quite _messy_. Since the majority of the Asgardians were with your group, they have little interest in trusting the Tier One Avengers."

"There are 'tiers' now?" Aunt May asked, greeting Viz with a hug that seemed to finally put Sister Maggie at ease. Peter would save up his question on how Matt's mother was a nun but at least May seemed to like her after the language scolding.

"Christ - sorry, I'm trying," Jessica said quickly before Sister Maggie could snap at her.

"Peter's here because we're trying to come up with a plan to get our names out of this - I'm pretty sure I'll get disbarred pretty soon," Matt admitted to Vision. "Peter's a juvenile so we can get his name redacted and his files locked but - " he paused, his attention caught by something outside.

"What is it?" Aunt May asked.

"The crowd's clearing up," Peter answered, tuning into the outside noise.

Vision placed a small tablet on the counter. "Pardon me for speaking out of turn, but I was under the impression your law partner had resolved that problem, they announced it at the noon press conference."

Aunt May glared at Matt and Jessica and her 'must be polite' posture was all gone. "There is **no** excuse for you not to have some sort of news source in here, you're supposed to be a lawyer."

"He's been having a rough few days, all right?" Jessica sighed, placing her hand on the back of his neck.

"To be fair, I never said I was a _good_ lawyer," Matt said after a beat.

 

* * *

 

"I don't want to be a hero, vigilante suits me fine," Matt muttered, tugging on his tie in the back of the limo Tony sent for them.

"Except for the whole breaking the law thing and being a lawyer," Mr. Nelson - who acted like an actual lawyer so far - responded.

Aunt May seemed satisfied with the blanket gag order on using his name and approved of unsupervised field trips with Nelson, Murdock & Page on a temporary basis. His name had been wiped off the web from what he assumed was an assist from Mr. Stark (or maybe Shuri) but it would still take a while for people to forget his identity if they'd been in space with him - but it was a start.

Matt wasn't as lucky but Foggy was amazing and spun the media to focus on Matt's legal representation as more newsworthy than 'probably Daredevil'. Matt just kept telling people he had a twin brother but nobody was buying it. He wasn't _that_ great of a liar.

"Do we need to prep before we go in there? You haven't said much about who you met up there," Foggy said.

Matt sighed heavily. "I, _possibly_ , represent Loki Laufeyson of Asgard - but I won't use our firm if you aren't okay with - "

"Wait, you're vouching for Loki, Battle of New York guy?" Foggy gasped.

"I lost a bet," Matt sighed.

Peter raised his hand. "I lost the same bet, so, yeah."

"What bet? He's legit called the 'Trickster', dude, come on! I'm supposed to be the gullible one here!" Foggy groaned.

"He was the only person that knew what was going on - of course none of the Dusters are going to give him the credit, he tried to take over the world that time - but the truth is still the truth. Loki's the one that knew about his mom's prophecy."

"Okay, pause, what prophecy - never mind, uh, sidebar actually over, I think," Foggy said as the limo slowed down. "We're going to talk about that later."

"Plead the fifth," Peter whispered, high-fiving Matt when his mouth quirked up.

"Doesn't work like that, best friend rights overrule legal rights," Foggy said.

Peter winced. "Don't tell my best friends that until I do more research."

"Did they know you were a web-slinger before all this?" Matt asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you're already doing better than the two of us - Matt is a lying liar who lies," Foggy grinned as they climbed out.

"Ah, you're the lawyers - great - " Mr. Stark said, of course only hearing the last part.

"Great first impression, Fogs," Matt snickered and Foggy elbowed him hard.

"Shut up and fix your tie," Foggy replied.

Peter realized suddenly that these guys were BFF goals. He couldn't not smile at Tony when he threw his arm around him.

"Come on in, we've got a lot to talk about. How do you feel about a quick trip to the moon, gentlemen?" Tony asked.

 

* * *

 

They had a power-point presentation (Mr. Stark swore it was for the government and they were required to show it to the blind guy) and Peter started to wish he'd stayed home but Matt and Foggy's bickering made the visit totally worth it.  
  
"I'm not going back to space, why can't they come here? I've never even been on a plane, can I tap out?" Matt hissed to Foggy.

"I can't make that decision - you should have thought about it before you went and played superhero without a mask," Foggy hissed back.

"How is this my fault again?" Matt threw up his hands but they both seemed to remember they were surrounded by relative strangers. Nobody bothered stopping the presentation.

Cap leaned forward first, holding out his hand. Matt's radar picked up on it and he shook it firmly. "Captain, it's an honor to meet you. My dad was a big fan."

"How'd you know it was me?" Steve smiled. Foggy didn't even roll his eyes, star-filled in Captain America's presence.

"You run hot, like Bucky," Peter answered without blushing. Aunt May would be so proud.

"Where is our client today?" Matt asked.

Foggy sputtered.  "Wait - we're representing the Winter - "

Steve winked. "Nelson, Page and Murdock are representing all of the fugitive Avengers, actually. I heard there were some judges in their camp."

"Better than a law library for brainstorming," Matt conceded.

"Off the record, he's hanging out at the Wakandian Embassy with Princess Shuri," Steve said. "He spent entirely too much time with Wanda up there."

"Wanda has a lot of feelings," Peter nodded solemnly.

Matt turned to Foggy, squeezing his wrist. "Will you please go to space for me, Foggy?"

"Man, I'll do anything for love but I won't do that," Foggy said.

BFF goals.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Twenty One Pilots


End file.
